When you think of the best team in all of baseball, which team comes to mind? Is it the Rockies, who exploded to a sizzling start and currently hold one of the best records in the big leagues? Or would you say the Phillies, with their staff of aces and playoff experience up and down the lineup? Either way, I would have to say that you are wrong. The best team in all of baseball does not play at Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park; rather, it plays its home games within a mile of where you likely are at this very moment.
The Virginia baseball team has dominated its competition in 2011 like no other baseball team in the world. The squad currently stands at 40-4 after taking two of three from N.C. State this past weekend. It has an enormous wealth of talent on the team, distributed evenly among freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. After the 2010 season ended in disappointment at the NCAA Super Regionals, the Cavaliers hope to build on that school record-setting 51-win season by earning their second-ever College World Series berth, with the first coming in 2009.
This team features arguably the best pitcher in college baseball in junior southpaw Danny Hultzen. The reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year boasts a career record of 28-3 while at Virginia. If there ever was a year for Virginia to bring its first baseball championship back to Charlottesville, this is it. Hultzen, though only a junior, likely will be a top pick during this summer's First-Year player draft. Hultzen was chosen in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he did not sign and made good on his commitment to play at Virginia. Hultzen undoubtedly has no regrets about that decision, as he has attracted plenty of media and scout attention, with some experts listing him as the third best draft prospect in 2011. It will be tough for Hultzen to turn down such a high pick and a potential multi-million dollar signing bonus to return to pitch another year for Virginia.
Hultzen is in no way the only stud on this team. One player is not the sole reason a team goes 40-4. Starter Will Roberts made NCAA history earlier this season by pitching college baseball's eighth nine-inning perfect game against George Washington. Roberts also is undefeated in eight starts with a 1.61 ERA. Juniors John Hicks and Stephen Proscia lead the team with 65 hits apiece and are the top two RBI men with 39 and 44, respectively. Underclassmen also have made important contributions, as sophomore shortstop Chris Taylor leads the team with 44 runs scored and is hitting above .300 in 184 at-bats.
How has baseball overshadowed lacrosse at one of the biggest lacrosse schools in the nation during the past few years? A huge part of it is coaching. Head coach Brian O'Connor is currently in his eighth year as the team's skipper. He has coached a slew of All-American players and has helped Virginia to a team ERA of 3.20
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